A new preprint challenges the assumption that injecting 'broad relevance' into undergraduate physics labs yields superior learning gains. Researchers ran two parallel experimentation-based labs: one CURE-like version using muon detectors to tie into real-world particle physics, and a control using standard introductory equipment with no external connections. Student outcomes in experimental critical thinking skills and attitudes toward labs were statistically indistinguishable via hierarchical linear modeling. This preprint (arXiv:2606.00464, not yet peer-reviewed) did not report sample size, limiting generalizability, and explicitly notes it was not a full CURE. The finding aligns with a 2023 study in Physical Review Physics Education Research showing that structured inquiry labs without novel research contexts produced equivalent critical thinking improvements. It also echoes a 2021 meta-analysis in CBE—Life Sciences Education questioning whether resource-heavy CURE elements drive outcomes or if well-scaffolded basic labs suffice. Original coverage overlooked how this undercuts funding arguments for expensive detectors in budget-strapped departments and ignores patterns where implementation fidelity, not relevance, predicts gains. The result suggests reallocating resources toward training instructors in core experimental design rather than chasing authentic hooks could reshape curricula without added costs.